Squeezed by low milk prices, many dairy farmers are having trouble making ends meet. A farm in Vermont has found a way to diversify their portfolio and earn extra income by producing electricty from their cows' manure. Manure digesters produce methane, which is used to fuel a generator. One cow produces enough manure to power two 100-watt light bulbs. The sterile solid waste left over fromt the digestion process is used as cow bedding. Five additional Vermont farms could begin producing power by the end of next year.

Source: Janet Raloff, Food for Thought: Cow Power. Science News Online, November 18.